May 16
Events *1204 - Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned first Emperor of the Latin Empire. *1527 - The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes a republic. *1532 - Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England. *1568 - Mary Queen of Scots flees to England. *1605 - Paul V becomes Pope. *1770 - 14-year old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste who later becomes king of France. *1771 - The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called "The Regulators" occurs in present-day Alamance County. *1777 - Lachlan McIntosh and Button Gwinnett shoot each other during a duel near Savannah. Gwinnett, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, dies three days later. *1811 - Peninsular War - Allies (Spain, Portugal & Britain) defeat French at the Battle of Albuera. *1822 - Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli. *1836 - Edgar Allan Poe marries his 13-year-old cousin Virginia. *1843 - The first major wagon train heading for the Northwest sets out with one thousand pioneers from Elm Grove on the Oregon Trail. *1866 - The U.S. Congress eliminates the half dime coin and replaces it with the five cent piece, or nickel. * 1866 - Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer. *1868 - President Andrew Johnson is acquitted during his impeachment trial, by one vote in the United States Senate. *1874 - A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroyed much of four villages and killed 139 people. *1877 - May 16 in France. *1910 - The U.S. Congress authorizes the creation of the United States Bureau of Mines. *1918 - The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government a jailable offense. *1919 - US Navy Naval Curtiss aircraft NC-4 commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight. *1920 - In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc as a saint. *1929 - In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards are handed out. *1938 - A fire at the Terminal Hotel in Atlanta, kills 35 people. *1943 - Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends. *1948 - Chaim Weizmann is elected as the first President of Israel. *1951 - The first regularly-scheduled transatlantic flights begin between New York and London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines. *1960 - Nikita Khrushchev demands an apology from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower for U-2 spy plane flights over the Soviet Union thus ending a Big Four summit in Paris. * 1960 - Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser, at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu. *1965 - Campbell Soup Company introduces SpaghettiOs under its Franco-American brand. *1966 - The Communist Party of China issued the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. *1967 - The city Jerusalem is taken over by the nation of Israel *1969 - Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet spaceprobe, lands on Venus. *1974 - Josip Broz Tito was re-elected as president of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This time he was elected for life. *1975 - India annexes Sikkim after the mountain state held a referendum where popular vote was in favour of merging with India. * 1975 - Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. *1983 - Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement rebelled against the Sudanese government *1986 - The Seville Statement on Violence is adopted by an international meeting of scientists, convened by the Spanish National Commission for UNESCO, in Seville, Spain. *1988 - A report by United States' Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine. *1992 - STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour lands safely after a successful maiden voyage. *2003 - In Casablanca, Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks. *2004 - The Day of Mourning at Bykivnia forest, just outside of Kiev, Ukraine. Here during 1930s and early 1940s communist bolsheviks executed over 100.000 Ukrainian civilians. *2005 - Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35-23 National Assembly vote. *2006 - A large earthquake (7.4 on the Richter scale) occurs near New Zealand. Births *1490 - Duke Albert of Prussia (d. 1568) *1578 - Everard Digby, English conspirator (d. 1606) *1611 - Pope Innocent XI (d. 1689) *1710 - William Talbot, English politician (d. 1782) *1718 - Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician (d. 1799) *1763 - Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French pharmacist (d. 1829) *1788 - Friedrich Rückert, German Poet, Translator and Orientalist (d. 1866) *1801 - William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State, bought Alaska at 2 ¢/acre (d. 1872) *1821 - Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician (d. 1894) *1824 - Levi P. Morton, United States Vice President under Benjamin Harrison (d. May 16, 1890) *1827 - Pierre Cuypers, Dutch architect (d. 1921) *1831 - David E. Hughes, American musician (d. 1900) *1845 - Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov, Russian microbiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1916) *1891 - Richard Tauber, Austrian tenor (d. 1948) *1898 - Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-born painter (d. 1980) * 1898 - Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese film director (d. 1956) *1905 - Henry Fonda, American actor (d. 1982) *1906 - Alfred Pellan, French Canadian painter (d. 1988) * 1906 - Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan writer (d. 2001) * 1906 - Margret Rey, author and illustrator (d. 1996) *1909 - Margaret Sullavan, American actress (d. 1960) *1910 - Olga Berggolts, Russian poet (d. 1975) * 1910 - Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter (d. 1972) *1912 - Studs Terkel, American writer *1913 - Woody Herman, American musician and band leader (d. 1987) *1914 - Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and author *1916 - Adriana Caselotti, American actress (d. 1997) *1917 - Juan Rulfo, Mexican novelist (d. 1986) * 1917 - James C. Murray, American politician (d. 1999) * 1917 - George Gaynes, American actor *1918 - Wilf Mannion, English former footballer (d. 2000) *1919 - Liberace, American pianist (d. 1987) * 1919 - Ramon Margalef, Spanish scientist (d. 2004) *1920 - Martine Carol, French actress (d. 1967) *1921 - Harry Carey, American actor *1923 - Merton Miller, American economist, Nobel laureate *1925 - Bobbejaan Schoepen, Belgian entertainer *1927 - Nílton Santos, Brazilian footballer *1928 - Billy Martin, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989) *1929 - John Conyers, American politician * 1929 - Claude Morin, French Canadian politician * 1929 - Adrienne Rich, American writer *1930 - Betty Carter, American jazz singer (d. 1998) * 1930 - Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist (d. 2000) *1931 - Jack Dodson, American actor (d. 1994) * 1931 - Denise Filiatrault, French Canadian actress and director * 1931 - Natwar Singh, Indian politician * 1931 - Lowell P. Weicker, American politician *1936 - Roy Hudd, English radio and television actor * 1936 - Karl Lehmann, German Catholic cardinal *1937 - Yvonne Craig, American actress *1944 - Billy Cobham, American virtuoso drummer * 1944 - Danny Trejo, American actor *1945 - Nicky Chinn, English songwriter (Sweet, Suzi Quatro) *1946 - Robert Fripp, English guitarist (King Crimson) * 1946 - Roger Earl, English rock drummer (Savoy Brown, Foghat) *1947 - Bill Smitrovich, American actor *1948 - Judy Finnegan, English TV presenter (Richard & Judy) *1950 - J. Georg Bednorz, German physicist, Nobel laureate * 1950 - Ray Condo, Canadian rockabilly musician *1951 - Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer * 1951 - Jonathan Richman, American proto-punk icon *1952 - James Herndon, American media psychologist *1953 - Pierce Brosnan, Irish actor *1955 - Olga Korbut, Russian gymnast * 1955 - Jack Morris, American baseball player * 1955 - Hazel O'Connor, English singer * 1955 - Debra Winger, American actress *1959 - Mare Winningham, American actress *1961 - Charles Wright, American professional wrestler known as "The Godfather" *1963 - Mercedes Echerer, Austrian actress and politician *1964 - Boyd Tinsley, American violinist (Dave Matthews Band) *1965 - Krist Novoselic, American bassist (Nirvana) *1966 - Janet Jackson, American singer * 1966 - Scott Reeves, American actor and singer * 1966 - Thurman Thomas, American football player *1968 - Chingmy Yau, Hong Kong actress *1969 - David Boreanaz, American actor * 1969 - Tucker Carlson, American television commentator * 1969 - Tracey Gold, American actress * 1969 - Steve Lewis, American athlete *1970 - Gabriela Sabatini, Argentine tennis player * 1970 - Danielle Spencer, Australian singer and actress *1971 - Rachel Goswell, English singer and songwriter (Slowdive, Mojave 3) *1972 - Khary Payton, American actor *1973 - Special Ed, American rapper * 1973 - Tori Spelling, American actress * 1973 - Jason Acuña "Wee-Man", American television personality *1974 - Laura Pausini, Italian pop singer * 1974 - Sonny Sandoval, American singer (P.O.D.) *1975 - Tony Kakko, Finnish singer (Sonata Arctica) * 1975 - Tonéx, American singer *1977 - Dolcenera, Italian singer * 1977 - Jean-Sébastien Giguère, Canadian ice hockey player *1978 - Lionel Scaloni, Argentine footballer *1979 - McKenzie Lee, English pornographic actress *1980 - Mikel Alonso, Spanish footballer * 1980 - Michael Ryan, American ice hockey player *1982 - Joo Ji Hoon, Korean actor and model * 1982 - Łukasz Kubot, Polish tennis player *1983 - Kyle Wellwood, Canadian ice hockey player * 1983 - Nancy Ajram, Lebanese singer *1984 - Jensen Lewis, American baseball player *1985 - Anja Mittag, German footballer * 1985 - Corey Perry, Canadian ice hockey player * 1985 - Stanislav Ianevski, Bulgarian actor *1986 - Megan Fox, American actress *1998 - Ariel Waller, Canadian actress Deaths * 583 - Saint Brendan, Irish navigator (b. 484) *1265 - Saint Simon Stock, English saint (b. 1165) *1620 - William Adams, English navigator (b. 1564) *1657 - Andrzej Bobola, Polish Jesuit missionary (b. 1591) *1667 - Thomas Wriothesley, English statesman (b. 1607) *1669 - Pietro da Cortona, Italian architect (b. 1596) *1691 - Jacob Leisler, American colonist (b. 1640) *1703 - Charles Perrault, French author (b. 1628) *1778 - Robert Darcy, English diplomat (b. 1718) *1782 - Daniel Solander, Swedish botanist (b. 1736) *1790 - Philip Yorke, English politician (b. 1720) *1830 - Joseph Fourier, French scientist (b. 1768) *1890 - Levi P. Morton, United States Vice President under Benjamin Harrision (b. 1824) *1891 - Ion Brătianu, Romanian statesman (b. 1821) *1913 - Louis Perrier, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1849) *1926 - Mehmed VI, last Ottoman Sultan (b. 1861) *1943 - Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist (b. 1865) *1944 - George Ade, American author (b. 1866) *1947 - Frederick Hopkins, English biochemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1861) *1953 - Django Reinhardt, Belgian musician (b. 1910) *1954 - Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor (b. 1893) *1955 - James Agee, American writer (b. 1909) *1956 - H. B. Reese, American founder of Reese's (b. 1876) *1957 - Eliot Ness, American federal agent (b. 1903) *1959 - Elisha Scott, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1894) *1969 - Robert R., first confirmed death from AIDS in North America (b. 1954) *1979 - A. Philip Randolph, American civil rights activist and labor union leader (b. 1889) *1981 - Ernie Freeman, American pianist and arranger (b. 1922) *1984 - Andy Kaufman, American comedian (b. 1949) * 1984 - Irwin Shaw, American author (b. 1913) *1985 - Margaret Hamilton, American actress (b. 1902) *1988 - Charles Keeping, English illustrator (b. 1924) *1990 - Sammy Davis, American entertainer (b. 1925) * 1990 - Jim Henson, American puppeteer (b. 1936) *1993 - Marv Johnson, American R&B and soul singer (b. 1938) *1996 - Jeremy Michael Boorda, American admiral (b. 1939) *2001 - Brian Pendleton, English musician (The Pretty Things) (b. 1944) *2002 - Alec Campbell, the last surviving ANZAC (b. 1899) * 2002 - Big Dick Dudley, American professional wrestler (b. 1968) *2003 - Mark McCormack, American businessman (b. 1930) Holidays and observances * Teachers' Day in Malaysia. * Middlesex Day. * Jerusalem Day in Israel for year 2007. * Discovery Day in the Cayman Islands. * National Piercing Day Liturgical observances Feast days of saints in the Christian Church: * Aaron, in the Coptic ChurchHolweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924. *Abda and Abdjesus and companions, , including: ** Aba of Kaskhar * Saint Brendan the Navigator - also in the Irish Calendar. * Saint Germerius * Saint Honoré of Amiens * Saint John Nepomuk or John Nepomucene (1330 - 1393) * Saint Andrew Bobola * Saint Simon Stock * Saint Ubaldus * Saint Peregrine of Auxerre References External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:May